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by Professor P H A N S Jayasena, Head, Department of Education.

The Department of Education, of the University of Peradeniya, has a long and remarkable history. Its origin could be traced back to the year 1949 when the Department of Education formed a part of the University of Ceylon which was located then at the University of Colombo.

When some faculties of the University were shifted to the newly built campus at Peradeniya, the Department of Education too was moved to Peradeniya in July 1957. Accommodation for the department library and facilities to conduct lectures were found in the old office of the Chief Construction Engineer. The main responsibility of the department at the time was to provide a professional training to the secondary school graduate teachers of Sri Lanka.

Under the able leadership of the late Professor J.E. Jayasuriya the Department progressed rapidly and was the only Department which undertook the professional training of graduate teachers in Sri Lanka, by offering the Post Graduate Diploma in Education. The Department functioned quite independently and the teachers who were selected to follow the PGDE course were screened by the University through an interview conducted by a committee consisting of the vice Chancellor, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and the then Professor of Education. These selections were subjected to approval of the Board of Admissions.

The mode for selecting the candidates for this course changed over the years and from 1960 the selections were based on a competitive examination conducted by the Department itself. Those who were selected from the Government schools had to face an interview before they were granted full-pay study leave. In 1963 another change to the selection of candidates was introduced when it was laid down that those who were seeking admissions to the course should have at least five years of teaching experience after graduation. This new rule was intended to improve the professionalism of the teachers as it was felt that teachers with experience in the school system would benefit much better than those who had no initial teaching experience. This pattern continued till 1968 when the Ministry of Education took over the responsibility of conducting the examination and the interview to select the candidates. However the requirement of teaching experience varied over the years and at present the requirement remains one year.

Other than the Post Graduate Diploma in Education the Department also concentrated on other higher degrees in Education like the Master's and the Ph.Ds. However, the number of students who enrolled in these courses were very few during those early years.

The period between 1963 - '76 saw many changes taking place in the Department. The introduction of the Bachelor of Education course in 1965 was an attempt by the Department to produce 'young' professionals" at low cost. When it was introduced in 1965, 29 students enrolled for this course in the Sinhala medium along with 7 students in the Tamil medium and 6 students in the English medium. The first batch of Bachelor of Education students passed out in 1967 and the course continued till 1974. The inability of the Government to absorb those who were thus trained into the teaching profession caused much disappointment to those who initiated the project, and hence the decision to terminate the course was made.

In 1974 under a vast plan of re-organization laid down by the Ministry of Higher Education, it was decided to amalgamate all Departments of Education in the various universities. Consequently, the Department of Education in the Peradeniya, the Vidyalankara and the Vidyodaya Universities were shifted to the University of Colombo and were amalgamated to form one umbrella organization as the Faculty of Education of the University of Colombo. This faculty was expected to handle teacher education programs in the country at all levels. Thus the University of Peradeniya lost one of its oldest departments.

However, in 1978 it was felt that there should be a change in the education policies of the Government and this resulted in each campus getting autonomous status. Consequently, the Department of Education was re-established at the University of Pedradeniya in 1978, as a Department of the Faculty of Arts. During this time the Department faced many difficulties due to shortage of staff, space and equipment. There were times when the Department had to function without even a proper Head of Department. During such periods the Department was under the authority of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. The shortage of staff affected the development of the Department as it had to limit the number of courses that were offered and the number of students admitted to the courses.

In 1984, the Department faced another crisis when the Government decided not to send in any teachers on full pay study leave to follow the courses conducted by the universities.

This decision threatened the very existence of the Departments of Education as these departments depended on the Ministry of Education to keep a regular supply of students, by giving them full-pay study-leave. Under these circumstances the Departments of Education had to device ways and means for their survival.

Taking up the challenge the Department of Education of the University of Peradeniya formulated its own rules and regulations and introduced for the first time self-financed courses at the post graduate level.

This situation however changed after a few years and the Ministry of Education in 1992 reverted to its earlier policy of sending in teachers with full pay study leave to the universities to follow the post graduate courses. As it stands now the Department of Education of the University of Peradeniya offers several courses at the Post Graduate level. The Post Graduate Diploma in Physical Education which was introduced in 2001 is the only course available at that level in Physical Education in Sri Lanka. A complete revision of the syllabuses was undertaken in the year 2001 and the course unit system was introduced in the same year at all levels to meet the demands made on the teachers with the new innovations.

At present the Department offers the following post-graduate courses.

1. Post Graduate Diploma in Education full time (1 year duration)
2. Post Graduate Diploma in Education (week-end 18 months duration)
3. Post Graduate Diploma in Physical Education (15 months duration)
4. Master of Education - 1 year duration
5. M. Phil in Education - 2 year course
6. Ph.D in Education - 3 years (full time)

Even though there is a great demand for the above courses, the Department is forced to reject quite a large number of applicants due to the shortage of staff and the lack of a sufficient number of senior lecturers to supervise research work. In addition to the heavy teaching load undertaken by the staff there are various other activities, which are conducted by the Department. The focus on research is quite strong. Seminars, community projects, various religious activities, public lectures are some of the other activities which are conducted by the Department in its attempt to improve the professionalism of the student teachers.

The Department has contributed immensely to the field of education as a result of its research activities. Several studies focused on teaching - learning situation in schools, ethnically mixed schools, teacher and pupil relationships, social problems in the classrooms and schools, higher educational institutions, comparative and gender studies, curriculum, management, evaluation and assessment conducted recently have contributed much to the knowledge pertaining to teacher education. Several publications have come out in local and international journals as well as a few books written in Sinhala for the benefit of our students.

The Department also has a very close rapport with the schools. The students and the staff both participate in many activities in the 'link' schools. One of the major social activities undertaken by the Department was the Mental Health Survey and the Intervention Programme conducted in 18 schools in the Kandy region in collaboration with a team from the University of Albany. This program is temporarily suspended due to lack of funds.

Public lectures, research seminars are regular features among the activities in the Department. In addition the students also participate in many social and religious programs like sil campaigns, and Bakthi Geetha programs, donations to the needy (areas affected by famine and floods) thus keeping a close rapport with the community. However, the Department is constrained and has to limit the areas to which it could penetrate and make its mark felt due to lack of staff. It is expected that the University Grants Commission would remedy this situation soon. Moreover, the Government should seriously consider strengthening the Department by recruiting and training new staff. Those who are in teacher education especially need foreign exposure to broaden their horizons. It is my fervent hope that the Department will be upgraded soon so faculty status. It will than be possible to undertake many other activities like in-service short term training courses and various other training programs which will improve the quality of all categories of education professionals.

The Department was able to persuade the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development to give its most urgent requirements in the form of a fully equipped new building and now it is the turn for the University Grants Commission to remedy the staff problem and raise the Department to the status of a "Faculty". If this requirement is met there is no doubt that the Department of Education of the University of Peradeniya will meet all the challenges in the future and conduct many other programs and activities thus contributing its share to the improvement of the teaching profession in Sri Lanka.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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